Ranau, Poring Springs, Weston & Beaufort in Sabah - 24 to 27 March 2016

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Ranau 24-25 March 2016



Our hotel in Ranau offered a wholesome breakfast after our big Mt Kinabalu climb. We were all nursing sore quads, hamstrings and calves. Several were really struggling. It took me longer to get out of bed, trying to get the muscles going. We all found it better to walk down stairs either backwards or sideways. We had to laugh at each other. However, the exhilarating thought of our achievement was still high in the mind which helped (mentally) overcome the pain.



We were staying in the middle of suburbia so were waken up at 4.00am by roosters crowing and dogs barking. Oh the variety travel offers!!!



We were looking forward to a day around Poring and Ranau. First we visited the Sabah Tea Plantation and Factory. We had a jovial guide to take us around and through the tea factory, describing how tea leaves where treated from field to package. Over 50%!o(MISSING)f Sabah tea is exported and mixed all the top teas in the world. We also watched a video on the process. At the end of the tour our guide gave us a sample of Sabah Tea which was great.



We also saw a couple of Sabah’s Long-houses which were built frequently in Sabah by the over-50 tribes of Borneo.



Then it was off to the Poring Hot Springs to soak our tired, sore legs in the thermal water. It was a little different to other thermal spring we had visited. The boiling water was piped into deep, tiled baths which a family of 4 could fit in. Tom and I chose one and started filling it with thermal water mixed with cold water. It took as long to fill as the time we wanted to spend in the bath. We soaked for 4o minutes massaging our muscles. It was very relaxing and therapeutic. We felt great after and the muscles were a lot more relaxed.



After a cold shower we then found the near-by canopy walk. It was in 4 sections and the bridge was single-lane and one could get a bit of bounce to it. We enjoyed the experience. The challenge was walking down the many steps but we/I managed!!



At the entrance of the canopy walk was a sign saying there was a Rafflesia in bloom. We followed the signs, paid our 10 ringgit each and was bowled over by the site of this biggest flower in the world. It was beautiful. We had to hurry to catch up with the rest of the group but we took our photos and met our group for lunch. However, after lunch, our wonderful guide EJ had found 4 more flowers in another nursery. We all walked for 5 minutes to a lovely lady’s garden where we saw 4 more blooms, many buds, a couple of buds blooming and a number of dead flowers. We couldn’t believe we were seeing this flower which only produces every 180 days and lasts for 1 week. However, the blooms are not seasonally influenced and this garden had a large area where the plant runners wandered. Another big tick-off to this trip.



I went back to Poring Springs after a lovely lunch with the group to see the Butterfly Park. I wished I had a little more time than 30 minutes to see through this large area. A building was included in the park which had a display of butterflies, beetles and other local insects.... including the huge rhinoceros beetle.



After a yummy icecream we all hopped into the 2 vans and headed back to Ranau. On the way, we stopped at Ranau Memorial where the WW2 260 km Death March ended. The Japanese started marching the POW Aust, NZ and UK soldiers from Sandakan and only 6 soldiers survived. Those who made the march to Ranau were killed by the Japanese.



It was then back to the Slagon Homestay (hotel) where we had dinner and drinks. The next day it was off to Beaufort & Weston.



Weston 26 March



We drove to the charming town of Weston. We enjoy the quaint atmosphere and took a boat tour down the river to view wild proboscis and long-tailed macaque monkeys and a few birds. There was not as much wildlife to see on this river as we had experienced further east. We spotted a small croc for 3 seconds before it disappeared under water.



On arrival at the water village, we had “high tea” which was a little different to what we know as the British high tea – donuts, battered, fried bananas, noodles and iced tea or lemon water.



The ride in a covered aluminium boat was very pleasant on this very busy river with many tourist boats speeding up and down. We then returned to the water village restaurant to have an early dinner. They served chilli crabs which were tasty, as well as the usual dried fish, fried sardines (both of which I have not acquired a taste for), local vegetables, spicy chicken and fresh fruit. One doesn’t really come to Borneo for the food!



We watched a beautiful sunset during dinner. Glorious!



But the highlight of this section of our tour was after dinner, where we returned to the boat to see fireflies. We had already seen fireflies in the eastern section of Sabah but nothing like the display we saw on the Weston River. The fireflies were bigger and more prolific. It was certainly like New York in December. The firefly beetles soak up the ultra violet rays during the day and release the incandescence at night to attract a mate. It was a real spectacle. After an hour, we returned to the water village then hopped back in the vans to go to our River Park Hotel in the town of Beaufort.

In the morning, after picking up some breakfast at the local bakery, we return to Kota Kinabalu. It was Easter Sunday morning.

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